Refoulement

12/6/19 Refoulement

The return of an alleged refugee to his state of origin. International treaties explicitly prohibit refoulement:Article 33 of the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees reads:

Article 33. Prohibition of Expulsion of Return (Refoulement)

“No Contracting State shall expel or return (refouler) a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.

The benefit of the present provision may not, however, be claimed by a refugee whom there are reasonable grounds for regarding as a danger to the security of the country in which he is, or who, having been convicted by a final judgment of a particularly serious crime, constitutes a danger to the community of that country.”